Page 39 of Business Temptations

Matteo’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you say that?”

Levi grinned. “Because your father’s credit card was declined.”

Matteo straightened with outrage. He looked at the security monitors, watching as his father strutted out of the club as if he owned the place. “Why the hell did you give him poker chips then?”

Levi grinned. “Because we wanted to trap him with his own words.”

Matteo sighed and relaxed back into the chair. “You’re right, of course. I apologize for not thinking clearly.”

Sean stepped into the office and looked at his friends. “Did it work?”

Antonio was right behind him and Sean moved deeper into the room. Zahir was with him and the room, normally a relatively large space, felt miniscule with five extremely large and muscular men in it.

Zahir’s eyes were sharp as he looked around the room. “You got all of that on video?” he asked.

Levi nodded, still grinning with satisfaction. “Every word of it.”

Sean already had his phone out, dialing a number. “I have a friend at the district attorney’s office,” he explained. “I’ll ask for a meeting and we can show him the evidence.”

Matteo stood grimly off to the side, his arms crossed over his chest as he accepted the reality of the situation. “We’ll need to move quickly. I suspect that he’ll return to Spain where he can await the money he’s so eagerly anticipating.”

Antonio nodded. “Matteo is right. My father feels more secure in his village where there’s only one road in and out. We need to stop him before he leaves the United States. Otherwise, he’ll be able to get away too easily.”

“I don’t know him as well as you do,” Matteo pointed out. “I agree that he’ll try to head back to the safety of Spain as soon as possible. But do you believe he’ll go back to his home and the castle?”

Antonio considered that question, then shook his head. “I believe he’ll do anything to avoid the humiliation of an arrest. But I also know that he wouldn’t do anything that might harm the castle. It’s the outward symbol of his power and status.” He thought about it for another moment. “Although, it might also be the best place for him to hide. The building is ancient. There are tunnels and hidden entrances that have been built into the basement and bedrooms. It would be easy enough for him to escape, or just sequester in one of the many hidden rooms if he felt threatened.”

Everyone in the room nodded their agreement of that assessment.

Sean stepped out of the room, talking to someone on the phone. Matteo looked at his watch. He started to say something, but Emily entered the room. “Your guy approached two others before he left. I overheard him telling them that he had a formula that they will want to bid on.”

There was a communal sigh of frustration. “That’s going to interfere with our membership dues,” Levi grumbled. “I’m going to double them for everyone who has a wonky moral compass.”

Matteo grunted while the others chuckled. Sean stepped back into the room. “Send the video file to this address,” he said, then texted the contact information to Levi. He then turned to Matteo and Antonio. “Are you both prepared for the ramifications of what will happen next?”

For the first time in his life, Matteo faced his half-brother without anger and resentment. “I don’t consider that man to be my father,” he explained. “His abuse over the years was…” he stopped when Antonio’s features shifted to surprise. “What?” Matteo demanded. “You thought he just left me alone? I was his bastard son. He hated me from the moment I was conceived.”

“How the hell did he abuse you? You were sent off to boarding school!” Antonio snapped. “You got away from the bastard!”

Matteo realized that Antonio’s fury was real, that what he’d said earlier, about Ricardo’s abuse, might be true. So he told his half-brother what his father had done to him, even with an ocean separating them.

“He had me stuffed into an attic room by the headmaster of that boarding school. I was often denied food, water, blankets…there was no mattress to sleep on and the headmaster ensured that I wasn’t released until after the dining hall had closed, forcing me to skip meals regularly.”

Antonio’s demeanor changed. “Besides beating me whenever he felt the need, Father used to shove me into the castle’s dungeon for the smallest infractions. No food or water either.” Antonio’s jaw clenched. “He said it would make me stronger. He said depriving me of basic human needs would make me into a man.”

The two men stared at each other. Matteo was the first to react. “I had a savior who snuck food to me.”

Antonio’s eyes widened. “The woman I saw you with earlier?”

Matteo nodded, his lips curving into a slow, satisfied smile. “She’s my business partner. And will become my wife as soon as I can get a ring on her finger.”

Levi and Sean chuckled knowingly. “About time,” Sean muttered under his breath. To the rest of the men, he explained, “Matteo and Bailey have been nearly inseparable for as long as we’ve known them, even though both tried to pretend that their relationship was merely friendship.”

Zahir stepped into the room, listening to the conversation and observing the men. Finally, he spoke up and said, “Are all of you beaten down by women?”

“Beaten?” Sean laughed. Then he shook his head. His Irish accent thickened as he explained, “Ah, Your Highness, there’s no beating when the right lady comes along!”

Levi nodded his agreement and Matteo’s thoughts immediately turned to Bailey and how she’d been such an amazing person ever since the first day he’d met her. He looked at his half-brother, finding a kinship with him finally. “Una mujer hermosa con un corazon generosa,” he intoned. “She will make your life worth living.”

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